Ten Young Mountaineers Who Made a Move During the Bye Week

A few names to keep your eye on during the final month of the season.

During the bye week, the West Virginia Mountaineers were able to get a closer look at some of its younger prospects and there were a handful of players on each side of the ball that stood out during the practices and scrimmage.

WVU head coach Neal Brown rattled off those who impressed and talked about which guys could help them down the final stretch of the 2024 season.

Offensive players

“Diore Hubbard had two of the three days he was really good. He was really good yesterday. Up front, Kyle Altuner was released and practiced full go last week and showed some good things. And then I thought Justin Terry and Lucas Austin, both the young tackles did some nice things during the week. And then Brandon Rehmann he probably had his best day as a Mountaineer yesterday. He’s continuing to get stronger and could potentially help us on special teams down the line here this month.”

Defensive players

“Defensively on the defensive line, Elijah Kinsler, who has kind of been our sixth guy. He’s been right there on the fringe whether he’s going to play these last four or not. But I thought he had a really good week. At linebacker, Rickey Williams. He’s coming on. He missed most of fall camp with an injury but he’s what we’re looking for at the linebacker position. And then DBs, Aden (Tagaloa-Nelson) was good which we need him to step up, so hopefully he can put himself in position to play this last month. Jason Cross did a nice job. He can run. He’s got a bright future. He’s got to gain some weight. And the Keyshawn Robinson who has been a really good special teams player for us on kickoff and punt coverage, he had a nice week as well.”

Who likely steps up?

Defensive lineman Elijah Kinsler and defensive back Aden Tagaloa-Nelson are the two most likely to earn playing time here in the final month of the season. You can never have enough bodies along the defensive line and the Mountaineers obviously haven't found any answers in the back end to this point. Zae Jennings will continue to see more opportunities, as will Israel Boyce.

Offensively, Hubbard may get worked in here and there but they'll likely keep him with his four-game limit so that he can redshirt. I am curious to see if Kyle Altuner gets any reps at center with Brandon Yates a bit banged up and struggling. Plus, he's someone who was expected to push for the starting job in fall camp prior to his injury.

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